Our supper is over and put to rout:
The delightful(?) odor of sauer-kraut
Is wafting out of the window there;
Give me my book and my easy chair.
With pipe all lighted and going STRONG,
My slippers a-foot (Where good slippers belong)
I grab that book that’s so fascinatin’–
I nod, and sleep–how aggravatin’!
I prod myself to attention then,
And doze, and pass right out again.
“See here, old Thing, this’ll never do:
You’re sleepy–BED is the place for you.”
I climb me into my striped pajamas,
With various yawnings and stutt’ring stammers,
And wisely, say, as I scratch my head,
“A fellow SO sleepy belongs in bed.”
I open the window and close my eyes…
A half hour later, I realize
That sleepy feeling just didn’t last–
I’m gettin’ wide-awaker fast.
Tell me, Fates–I am lost in wonder–
Break down, and give out–why in thunder,
With a spring-filled mattress and comfy bed,
I’d rather sleep in a CHAIR, INSTEAD?
by Ray Romine Saturday, April 24, 1943
